Pittsburgh Filmmakers exhibits senior thesis

Amy Volle began with Barbie dolls. Ann Groves was intrigued by the way people dress up their pets and carry them in bags. Angela Swift wanted to record how when light hits a building, it can change the way the building looks.

Volle, Groves, Swift and seven other senior photography majors will have their photos showcased at the Pittsburgh Filmmakers School of Film, Photography & Digital Media. The showcase began on Saturday, and an opening reception to honor the seniors' work will be held on Friday, May 1, from 6 to 9 p.m.

The student exhibition is a requirement for all graduating seniors receiving a bachelor's of fine arts in photography from Point Park University. Each student spends two semesters working through their projects. The thesis helps students to develop ideas for exhibition by having students create, design and shoot their own projects.

Under the direction of Filmmakers associate professor Sue Abramson, the 10 seniors spent two semesters refining their projects in preparation for the showcase.

"Sue helped us develop and think our ideas through to arrive at our theses," said Swift.

Swift decided to focus her thesis on how light affects the way a building looks because she wanted to document change over the past eight months.

"I wanted to observe how everything changes over time," Swift said. "I wanted to show how different scenes can appear different during different times of the day."

Swift found inspiration in different places by driving past buildings in her car or walking around downtown Pittsburgh and noticing how the light lands on a building. Swift's exhibit, called "Progress with Time," introduces eight photos that blend city and country images. Swift wanted her photos to present rich, colored landscapes that would present change to the visitor.

Volle's exhibit displays a series of eight photos that compare and contrast the various uses of a Barbie Doll with those of actual usage. Volle describes her exhibit as edgy and innovative. "It shows what the makers of Barbie intend for us to do with her and compares it to what little kids actually do when they play with Barbie," said Volle.

"I did a black and white series with Barbie Dolls for another class," said Volle. "When I completed the project, I didn't feel like it was really finished and that there was something more I could do with the idea. The idea started as something so simple, but soon snowballed and formulated into my thesis."

Groves' photos offer a documentary series of the strange things people do with their pets. "I had done a project a couple of years ago about the way people can be cruel to their animals and put them in captivity," Grove said. "It was too heavy, so I wanted people to laugh at this idea. I had also done a photo story about gourmet dog treats. I realized that there was a trend."

Groves' series of 10 photos were done in a photojournalistic format, consisting of photos she took at various Pittsburgh pet events, including the Pittsburgh Pet Expo, Barktoberfest in the South Hills and a birthday party for a dog at Animal Friends.

Groves describes her work as observational, unnatural and funny.

"I felt sort of bad for the animals, but it was funny," she said. "I knew people dressed up animals and did strange things but they do it out of love. The photos show the strange things that people do as people."

The showcase will run from Saturday, April 18 through Sunday, May 24 at the Pittsburgh Filmmakers School of Film, Photography & Digital Media at 477 Melwood Avenue in North Oakland.